Signs of Survival by Renee Hartman and Joshua M. Greene

 

One of the books my school purchased for our seventh grade memoir unit this year was Signs of Survival by Renee Hartman. This short memoir centers around Hartman's experiences as a young Jewish girl living in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. The cover of this one was quite striking, and as I generally try to read at least some of the selections we have available in our student book clubs, I decided to give it a try.

The memoir is told from two perspectives, that of Renee Hartman and her younger sister Herta. Most of the story comes from Renee, who explains that she was around ten years old when the Nazis invaded her hometown of Bratislava. Her parents and younger sister were all deaf, so she has to act as the ears for her family and stay alert to the ever-increasing danger of the occupation. Eventually, the family is separated and Renee and her sister are sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Renee describes how they endured starvation, violence, and illness until they were liberated at the end of the war. Both girls were lucky to make it out alive. Their parents, however, did not survive. Renee and her sister regained their freedom only to find themselves alone. Renee goes onto explain how they created new lives for themselves after the war and the efforts they made to teach others about their experiences. 

It's tricky to critique a memoir, especially one that deals with such a difficult and painful subject. Signs of Survival was certainly an interesting and heartbreaking read, and I have deep respect and admiration for Renee and Herta for sharing their story. It takes great courage and strength to relive the events of a genocide and Hartman manages to explain her experiences in a way that is both truthful and not too graphic. This memoir was written for a young audience, and it is definitely appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Its short length means that students won't be intimidated by it, and I expect that many kids will pick it up this year. The Holocaust is one of those subjects that everyone needs to learn about, and this is a very accessible way for students to explore it through the eyes of some of the survivors.

One aspect of the memoir that I wished had been a little different was the amount of detail. The pace is very fast and a lot of specifics that would create more of a solid story structure were missing. The way things looked, smelled, felt, etc. were mostly absent. At the end of the book the collaborating writer, Joshua Greene, reveals that the text for this memoir was transcribed from a collection of video recollections Renee and her sister contributed to for a museum. This is why it doesn't feel like a complete story - it was originally a spoken recording. While this was enough to convey the events of the experience, I couldn't help but feel that reading a transcript version of a video was not the best way to digest this information. By not watching the video, we lose the powerful visual and audio elements of Renee and Herta telling their own story. Also, because people don't speak like they write, we also lose the extra details we would get from a traditionally written text. I wish that a little more writing was added in to round out some of the sparse parts and bring a sense of cohesion to the story.

In the end though, Signs of Survival was still a compelling and important story. While I wish the level of detail had been greater, it was still a very moving and worthwhile read. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for older teens or adults, but it is a wonderful memoir for an upper elementary and middle grades audience. 

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 19/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24